Degradation of Worcestershire Sauce

I reached for the Lea and Perrin's to add zip to some stir fried vegetables that I was making for dinner. What was once a wonderful striking, acerbic, fish based sauce that lifed sauces, veggies and meats to a new level is now mostly molasses and high fructose corn syrup that instantly carmelizes in a skillet. I remember when it was a perfect addition to many things, and now it's like so many things, another way to add sugar to a sauce. Any one know of any good brands or substitutes available? I guess some nam pla or other fish sauce might be a better choice.

I could not aggree more that L&P is not what it was. I made this recipie from Savuer several months back and am happy to report excellent results...not exactly as I remember L&P...I think they used to give it time in wood barrels, not sure. Next time I make the Savuer version I will slightly decrease the sweet and up the anchovies a bit.....but it is very well worth making...

I made this, and was generally happy with it. But it is still on the sweet side, thought that is partly due to flub on my part. Add the 1/2c of sugar directly, rather than caramelizing it. Still the 1/2 c of molasses is not a trivial component.

There have been reports of many companies who cheapened their products with HFCS switching to other sweeteners after the HFCS backlash. My guess is this is why. However, I don't remember sugar being an ingredient in the past.